A Lagos court has sentenced 35-year-old music teacher and school counselor, Anthony Okeh, to life imprisonment for defiling a nine-year-old JSS1 pupil at Lachez O International School, Agege.
The verdict was delivered on Wednesday, May 21, by Justice Abiola Soladoye of the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, following Okeh’s conviction on a one-count charge of defilement.
According to the State Counsel, Miss Abimbola Abolade, the offence occurred on September 6, 2022. During the trial, the prosecution presented two witnesses—the survivor and an investigating police officer—while the defence called four witnesses.
In her ruling, Justice Soladoye said the prosecution had “successfully proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.” She described Okeh as “a soulless man without any iota of shame, and everything a teacher should not be,” for exploiting the trust placed in him to commit such a heinous act.
The judge highlighted the survivor’s testimony as “lucid and compelling,” noting that her detailed account of being lured to the music room, shown nude images, and threatened with death if she spoke out, was consistent and credible.
Soladoye dismissed Okeh’s defence as “a pathetic afterthought,” labeling him “a pathological liar.” She also discredited the testimonies of the other defence witnesses, calling them “tainted and devoid of truth.”
She emphasized that the number of witnesses is irrelevant if the evidence presented lacks credibility, adding that the survivor’s account was corroborated by the investigating officer and her mother, who noticed changes in the child’s behavior and reported the abuse to the police.
In addition to the life sentence, the court ordered that Okeh’s name be entered into the Lagos State Sexual Offenders Register.
“All stakeholders in the criminal justice system must work together to combat sexual violence and protect the dignity and mental well-being of survivors,” Justice Soladoye concluded.
